Semiconductor device and method for production of semiconductor device

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device with a connection pad in a substrate, the connection pad having an exposed surface made of a metallic material that diffuses less readily into a dielectric layer than does a metal of a wiring layer connected thereto.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/858,052 filed Aug. 17, 2010, the entirety of which is incorporatedherein by reference to the extent permitted by law. The presentapplication claims priority to and contains subject matter related tothat disclosed in Japanese Priority Patent Application JP 2009-193324filed with the Japan Patent Office on Aug. 24, 2009, the entire contentof which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method forproducing a semiconductor device.

There is known a technique for bonding together two semiconductorsubstrates for producing highly integrated semiconductor chips. (SeeJapanese Patent Laid-open No. 2006-66808, hereinafter referred to asPatent Document 1, for example.) According to Patent Document 1, the twosemiconductor substrates bonded together are electrically connected toeach other through a bump held between them.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Disclosed herein are one or more inventions that provide one or moreways to minimize or eliminate diffusion of material from a contact padinto a facing substrate or a contact pad on the facing substrate.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, each of twosemiconductor substrates is provided with a pad, and the two pads areconnected to each other through their direct contact with each other.

Embodiments of the present invention obviate the deterioration of theelectrical properties of bonded semiconductor substrates due to relativedisplacement of one pad and/or substrate relative to the other padand/or substrate. Such displacement can cause the pad on onesemiconductor substrate to come into contact with a dielectric film ofthe other semiconductor substrate. In this state, ions of the metalconstituting the pad may diffuse into the dielectric film, therebydegrading electrical properties.

Embodiments of the present invention provide semiconductor devices andmethods for the production thereof.

The semiconductor device, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, includes a substrate, a dielectric layer, a pad, and awiring. The dielectric layer is formed on one side of the substrate. Apad is formed within a groove of the dielectric layer. The wiring isconnected to the pad. At least a region at an exposed top surface of thepad is made of a metallic material that is less diffusible into aninsulating layer than is the wiring. The insulating layer may be formedon another substrate such that it is adjacent to the dielectric layer inwhich the pad is contained.

According to another embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a firstsemiconductor substrate and a second semiconductor substrate. A firstdielectric film is formed on a surface of the first semiconductorsubstrate. A first pad is formed on the first substrate. A seconddielectric film is formed on a surface of the second semiconductorsubstrate. A second pad is formed on the second substrate. A wiring iselectrically connected to the second pad. The first and second pads haveexposed contacting regions. The first substrate and the second substrateare bonded together such that the contacting region of the first pad iselectrically connected to the contacting region of the second pad. Atleast the contacting region of the second pad is formed of a metallicmaterial that is less diffusible into the first dielectric film than isthe wiring.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method forproducing a semiconductor device includes forming a first pad and asecond pad. The first pad is formed within a groove of a firstdielectric film on a first substrate. The second pad is formed within agroove of a second dielectric film on a second substrate. The methodincludes bonding the first and second substrates together such that acontacting region of the first pad engages against a contacting regionof the second pad. At least the contacting region of the second pad isformed of a metallic material that is less diffusible into the firstdielectric film than is the wiring.

According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possibleto prevent the semiconductor device from deteriorating in electricalproperties due to a displacement of semiconductor substrates, which mayoccur at the time of bonding.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are a schematic perspective view and a schematicsectional view, respectively, showing the laminated wafer pertaining toone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a sectional view of the region IIa in FIG. 1B, and FIGS. 2Band 2C are plan views of the region IIa in FIG. 1B;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the method for production ofchips to be fabricated from laminated wafers shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a first modification of theembodiment shown in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a second modification of theembodiment shown in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a third modification of theembodiment shown in FIG. 2A;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are plan views showing a fourth modification of theembodiments shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, respectively; and

FIGS. 8A and 8B are schematic perspective views showing an example ofchips bonded together.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1A is a schematic perspective view showing the laminated wafer 1pertaining to one embodiment of the present invention.

The laminated wafer 1 is composed of the first wafer 3A and the secondwafer 3B which are bonded together. (These wafers will be simplyreferred to a “wafer 3” without discrimination in some caseshereinafter.) The laminated wafer 1 is divided into a plurality of chips(semiconductor device 5) by dicing.

FIG. 1B is a schematic sectional view taken along the line Ib to Ib inFIG. 1A.

The first wafer 3A is composed of the first semiconductor substrate 7Aand the multiple layers laminated thereon which are the wiring layers 9and the interlayer dielectric films 11. Incidentally, FIG. 1B does notshow the boundary line between the multiple layers, which may constitutean interlayer dielectric film 11. Like the first wafer 3A, the secondwafer 3B is also composed of the second semiconductor substrate 7B andthe multiple layers laminated thereon which are the wiring layers 9 andthe interlayer dielectric films 11. In the first and second wafers 3Aand 3B, the multiple wiring layers 9 are connected to one anotherthrough the vias 13 penetrating the interlayer dielectric films 11.

Incidentally, the term “semiconductor substrate 7” will be occasionallyused hereinafter to denote both the first semiconductor substrate 7A andthe second semiconductor substrate 7B without discrimination betweenthem.

The semiconductor substrate 7 is an unfabricated wafer (or wafer in anarrow sense), which is formed from silicon, for instance. The wiringlayers 9 and the vias 13 are formed from copper, for instance. Theinterlayer dielectric films 11 are formed from any material containingat least one of silicon, nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon. Their examplesinclude silicon oxide film.

The wiring layers 9 and the vias 13 in the wafers 3A and 3B have thebarrier metal 21 which prevents their diffusion into the interlayerdielectric film 11. See FIG. 2A. The barrier metal 21 may be formed frommaterials, such as TiN or TaN, for instance.

Incidentally, the semiconductor substrate 7 and the interlayerdielectric film 11 will be referred by the same name or symbol forbrevity hereinafter both before dicing and after dicing.

Each of the wafers 3A and 3B will be made into a monofunctional LSI byfabrication of semiconductor elements (not shown), the wiring layers 9,and the vias 13 on the semiconductor substrate 7. For example, themonofunctional LSI on the wafer 3A and the wafer 3B may be the memory 31and the logic device 33, respectively. The memory 31 may be DRAM, SRAM,and flash memory, for instance, and the logic device 33 may be MPU andperipheral circuit, for instance. If the wafers 3A and 3B each havingthe monofunctional LSI are bonded together, it will be possible toproduce an LSI chip with multiple functions and a high degree ofintegration.

FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of the region IIa shown in FIG. 1B. FIG. 2Bis a plan view (seen from the second wafer 3B) of the first wafer 3A inthe region IIa shown in FIG. 2A. FIG. 2C is a plan view (seen from thefirst wafer 3A) of the second wafer 3B in the region IIa shown in FIG.2A.

The two wafers 3A and 3B form an integral body, with the interlayerdielectric films 11 (as the uppermost layers) bonded to each other.Incidentally, terms “the first dielectric film 15A” and “the seconddielectric film 15B” will be used hereinafter to denote respectively theuppermost interlayer dielectric film 11 of the first wafer 3A and theuppermost interlayer dielectric film 11 of the second wafer 3B. Also, aterm “the dielectric film 15” will be used occasionally hereinafter tosimply denote both “the first dielectric film 15A” and “the seconddielectric film 15B” without discrimination between them.

Also, the two wafers 3A and 3B are electrically connected to each otherthrough the first pad 17A (in the first wafer 3A) and the second pad 17B(in the second wafer 3B) which are in contact with each other.Incidentally, the first pad 17A and the second pad 17B will be simplyreferred to as the “pad 17” hereinafter without discrimination betweenthem.

The first pad 17A is formed from metal filled into the recess (groove)formed in the first dielectric film 15A. The first pad 17A has anexposed face which is flush with the boundary between the firstdielectric film 15A and the second dielectric film 15B. The first pad17A has a rectangular shape in plan view, for instance.

The first pad 17A is connected to the via 13 formed right above it. Inthis way the first pad 17A is connected to the first wiring conductor19A shown in FIG. 1B, which is composed of the wiring layer 9 and thevia 13 and is covered with the first dielectric layer 15A (and otherinterlayer dielectric film 11).

The second pad 17B is also formed from metal filled into the recess(groove) formed in the second dielectric film 15B. The second pad 17Bhas an exposed face which is flush with the boundary between the firstdielectric film 15A and the second dielectric film 15B. The second pad17B has a rectangular shape in plan view, for instance.

The second pad 17B is formed from a metal which is less diffusible intothe interlayer dielectric film 11 than copper. Such a metal includes,for example, Au, Ag, Al, Ta, Ti, W, Sn, Mo, Ni, In and Co and an alloycontaining at least one of them.

The second pad 17B is connected to the second wiring conductor 19B shownin FIG. 1B, which is composed of the wiring layer 9 and the via 13 andis covered with the second dielectric layer 15B.

The first and second wiring conductors 19A and 19B may be simplyreferred to as “the wiring conductor 19” hereinafter withoutdiscrimination between them.

The second pad 17B is formed wider than the first pad 17A. In otherwords, the two pads 17 are formed in such a way that the first pad 17Aremains covered by the second pad 17B even though they get out of theposition when the two wafers 3 are bonded together.

Misalignment at the time of bonding is about ±3 μm, for instance.Therefore, the second pad 17B should be larger than the first pad 17A by6 μm or more.

The result of the two pads 17 being formed as mentioned above is thatonly the second pad 17B comes into contact with the dielectric film 15in case of misalignment at the time of bonding. The second pad 17B isless diffusible into the dielectric film 15 than the first pad 17A.

Incidentally, the first pad 17A may be connected to the first wiringconductor 19A through the connecting part in the same way as the secondpad 17B. In this case, the connecting part 18 for the second pad 17Bshould be larger than the connecting part for the first pad 17A by morethan the amount of misalignment.

The second pad 17B may have the via 13 right below it in the same waythe first pad 17A, so that it is connected to the second wiringconductor 19B.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the process for producingthe chip 5.

The wiring step forms by repeated photolithography the interlayerdielectric film 11 (in multiple layers), the wiring layer 9 (in multiplelayers), the wiring conductor 19, and the pad 17. The wiring stepemploys the film deposition system 51, the exposure system 53, theetching system 55, and the planarization system 57.

In the wiring step, the pad 17 is formed by damascene process (eithersingle damascene process or dual damascene process). FIG. 2A shows thefirst pad 17A which was formed by dual damascene process.

Each of the wafers 3 undergoes the bonding pretreatment step, whichinvolves activation of the surface of the wafer 3 and removal of oxidefilm from the pad 17. This step is accomplished by reduction orannealing. Reduction employs hydrogen plasma, NH₃ plasma, or formic acidplasma. Annealing employs hydrogen or forming gas (N₂ or H₂).

Incidentally, FIG. 3 schematically shows the volumetric plasma reductiontreatment system 59, which is run under the following conditions.

-   Gas: H₂/Ar=100/170 sccm-   Microwave: 2.8 kW (2.45 GHz)-   Pressure: 0.4 Pa-   Substrate temperature: 400° C.-   Duration: 1 min

The pretreatment step is followed by the bonding step in which thepretreated wafers 3 are bonded together by the bonding system 61, suchas any bonding system that is effective to bond an interposer to thesemiconductor substrate.

The bonding system 61 has the function to position the two wafers 3 andthe function to bond them together with heating under pressure.

The positioning is accomplished by causing the wafer's notch ororientation flat to engage with a relevant engaging member, or bycausing the wafer 3 to fit into a relevant positioning member (such as aV-shaped frame), or by detecting the notch, orientation flat, and/orentire edge and properly moving the wafer 3 according to the results ofdetection.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the equipment which has the detector 63 todetect the notch of the second wafer 3B, the second table 65B supportingthe second wafer 3B, and the drive unit 67 to achieve positioning bytranslational or rotational movement of the second wafer 3B according tothe results of detection.

The positioning unit may be combined with or separated from the heatingand pressurizing unit. In the case of the equipment shown in FIG. 3,each of the first and second tables 65A and 65B, which are intended forpositioning, is provided with the heater 69 and the first and secondtables 65A and 65B apply heat and pressure.

The bonding equipment (or the positioning unit in the bonding equipment)varies in positioning accuracy depending on the principle ofpositioning, the tolerance of the members, and the accuracy of theconstituents of the equipment. In the wiring step mentioned above, thesecond pad 17B is formed in such a way that it is larger than the firstpad 17A by more than the accuracy of positioning by the bondingequipment 61.

Incidentally, the accuracy of positioning may be based on experimentalvalues available from the producer of the bonding equipment or obtainedby the user of the bonding equipment.

Thus the two wafers 3 are bonded together, and the resulting laminatedwafer 1 undergoes dicing by the dicing blade 71, so that it is dividedinto a plurality of chips 5.

According to the foregoing embodiment, the resulting chip 5 is composedof the first semiconductor substrate 7A and the second semiconductorsubstrate 7B, both facing each other. In addition, the chip 5 has thefirst wiring conductor 19A formed in the first semiconductor substrate7A and the second wiring conductor 19B formed in the secondsemiconductor substrate 7B. The chip 5 also has the first dielectricfilm 15A, which covers the first wiring conductor 19A, and the seconddielectric film 15B, which covers the second wiring conductor 19B andfaces the first dielectric film 15A bonded thereto. The chip 5 also hasthe first pad 17A, which is connected to the first wiring conductor 19Aand faces toward the second pad 17B. The chip 5 also has the second pad17B, which is connected to the second wiring conductor 19B and facestoward the first pad 17A bonded thereto. The second pad 17B is formedfrom a metal which is less diffusible into the first dielectric film 15Athan the second wiring conductor 19B.

The method for producing the chip 5 includes a step of forming the firstpad 17A in the first semiconductor substrate 7A which has the firstwiring conductor 19A formed therein and the first dielectric film 15Aformed therein which covers the first wiring conductor 19A. The firstpad 17A is connected to the first wiring conductor 19A and exposesitself from the first dielectric film 15A. The method for producing thechip 5 also includes a step of forming the second pad 17B in the secondsemiconductor substrate 7B which has the second wiring conductor 19Bformed therein and the second dielectric film 15B formed therein whichcovers the second wiring conductor 19B. The second pad 17B is connectedto the second wiring conductor 19B and exposes itself from the seconddielectric film 15B. Moreover, the method for producing the chip 5includes a step of bonding together the first semiconductor substrate 7Aand the second semiconductor substrate 7B, with the first pad 17A andthe second pad 17B kept in contact with each other. Then, the second pad17B is formed from a metal which is less diffusible into the firstdielectric film 15A than the second wiring conductor 19B.

Therefore, even though misalignment occurs at the time of positioningfor bonding and the second pad 17B comes into contact with the firstdielectric film 15A, metal diffusion into the first dielectric film 15Ais less significant than in the case where the second pad 17B is formedfrom the metal constituting the second wiring conductor 19B. Althoughany metal less diffusible into the dielectric film is usually expensive,such a metal is not used for the entire wiring but is used only for thesecond pad 17B according to an embodiment of the present invention. Thiscontributes to cost reduction and protection of the second pad 17B fromoxidation.

Since the second pad 17B is wider than the first pad 17A, the first pad17A does not come into contact with the second dielectric film 15B evenin the case of positioning misalignment. As the result, if either of thefirst pad 17A and the second pad 17B is formed from a metal lessdiffusible into the dielectric film 15, it is possible to prevent metalfrom diffusing into the dielectric film 15 due to positioningmisalignment. Consequently, the first pad 17A can be formed from a metal(such as the same one as used for the first wiring conductor 19A) whichis as diffusible into the second dielectric film 15B as the first wiringconductor 19A into the second dielectric film 15B. The first pad 17A canalso be formed from a metal which is more diffusible into the seconddielectric film 15B than the second pad 17B is diffusible into the firstdielectric film 15A.

The low-diffusible metal includes Au, Ag, Al, Ta, Ti, W, Sn, Mo, Ni, Inand Co and an alloy containing at least any one of them. These metalsare not only less diffusible than copper constituting the wiringconductor 19 but also better in bonding performance than otherlow-diffusible metals (such as Al and W).

Bonding of the wafers 3A and 3B or bonding of the first and secondsemiconductor substrates 7A and 7B is accomplished by using the bondingequipment 61 capable of accurate positioning. Moreover, the second pad17B is wider than the first pad 17A by more than the positioningaccuracy. These measures effectively prevent metal diffusion due topositioning errors.

First Modified Example

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a first modification of theembodiment shown in FIG. 2A.

According to the embodiment of FIG. 2A, the second pad 17B is formedentirely from a low-diffusible metal. By contrast, according to a firstmodified embodiment, the second pad 117B has a surface layer which isformed from a low-diffusible metal.

In other words, the second pad 117B has the base part 123, whichaccounts for a large portion (by volume) thereof, and the base part 123is formed from the same material (such as copper) as the second wiringconductor 19B. The second pad 117B also has the covering layer 125 whichis formed on that side of the base part 123 which faces the first pad17A. The covering layer 125 is formed from a low-diffusible metal (suchas Au).

The structure mentioned above saves expensive low-diffusible metal andcontributes to cost reduction.

Second Modified Example

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a second modification of theembodiment shown in FIG. 2A.

According to the embodiment of FIG. 2A, either of the first pad 17A orthe second pad 17B is formed from a low-diffusible metal. By contrast,according to a second modified embodiment, both of the first pad 217Aand the second pad 217B are formed from a low-diffusible metal.

This structure prevents metal from diffusing into the dielectric film 15even when either of the two pads 217 comes into contact with thedielectric film 15. In other words, this structure prevents metaldiffusion from either of the pads 217 even though one of the two pads217 is not made wider than the other despite the possibility ofpositioning errors. This permits the design with a high degree offreedom for dimensions. FIG. 5 shows an instance in which the first pad217A and the second pad 217B have the same area.

Third Modified Example

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a third modification of theembodiment shown in FIG. 2A.

According to this modified embodiment, the second dielectric film 15Bhas the diffusion preventing layer 325 formed thereon which prevents themetal of the first pad 17A from diffusing into the second dielectricfilm 15B. The diffusion preventing layer 325 may be formed from SiN orSiOC, for instance. Incidentally, the second pad 317B exposes itselftoward the first dielectric film 15A through the diffusion preventinglayer 325.

In this case, metal diffusion from the first pad 17A is inhibited by thediffusion preventing layer 325. Therefore, as in the case of the secondmodified embodiment, it is possible to prevent metal from diffusing fromthe first pad 17A without expanding the second pad 317B. This permitsthe design with a high degree of freedom for dimensions. FIG. 6 shows aninstance in which the first pad 17A and the second pad 317B have thesame area.

Fourth Modified Example

FIGS. 7A and 7B are plan views showing a fourth modification of theembodiment shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C.

According to this modified embodiment, the first pad 417A has a roundshape. In this case, the first pad 417A overreaches the second pad 17B alittle even though its position deviates by rotation about the axisperpendicular to it. The result is positive inhibition of metaldiffusion.

The scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodimentsmentioned above. It covers other various embodiments.

The foregoing embodiments demonstrate the bonding of wafers to eachother. The present invention may be applied to another embodiment, asshown in FIG. 8A, in which the chip 503A is bonded to the wafer 3B orthe chips 503A and 503B are bonded together.

Incidentally, the chip-to-wafer bonding will involve a largerpositioning misalignment than the wafer-to-wafer bonding. The accuracyof alignment will be larger than ±10 μm in the former case, whereas itwill be about ±3 μm. in the latter case. This difference should be takeninto account when the area of the pad is designed.

The scope of the present invention is not limited to bonding two wafers(or chips) together. For example, the scope may cover the bonding ofthree or more wafers together. Each wafer (or chip) may include any typeof circuit and is not limited to memory or logic devices. For example,the circuit may be for an imaging device.

The embodiments or modifications thereof disclosed herein may beproperly combined with one another. For example, the technology shown inFIG. 4 (in which a low-diffusible metal is used only for the surface ofthe pad) may be combined with the technology shown in FIG. 5 (in which alow-diffusible metal is used only for the surfaces of the two pads).

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

1-10. (canceled)
 11. A semiconductor device comprising: a firstsemiconductor substrate; a first wiring layer formed on the firstsemiconductor substrate, wherein the first wiring layer includes a firstpad, a first insulating film, and a diffusion preventing layer, whereinthe first pad and the diffusion preventing layer comprise at least asection of a first surface of the first wiring layer; a secondsemiconductor substrate; and a second wiring layer formed on the secondsemiconductor substrate, wherein the second wiring layer includes asecond pad and a second insulating film, wherein a portion of the firstpad contacts a portion of the second pad, and wherein a first portion ofthe diffusion preventing layer is disposed between the first insulatingfilm and the second insulating film.
 12. The semiconductor device ofclaim 11, wherein the first portion of the diffusion preventing layercontacts the second insulating film.
 13. The semiconductor device ofclaim 12, wherein a second portion of the diffusion preventing layerforms a second surface opposite to the first surface of the first wiringlayer and contacts the first insulating film.
 14. The semiconductordevice of claim 13, wherein a surface of the first pad contacts thediffusion preventing layer and the first insulating film and extends ina direction perpendicular to the first surface of the first wiringlayer.
 15. The semiconductor device of claim 11, wherein the diffusionpreventing layer includes at least one of Si, N, O, and C.
 16. Thesemiconductor device of claim 11, wherein the diffusion preventing layerincludes one of SiN and SiOC.
 17. The semiconductor device of claim 11,wherein the second pad is partially covered by a barrier metal.
 18. Thesemiconductor device of claim 17, wherein the barrier metal covers atleast a portion of a surface of the second pad extending in a directionperpendicular to the first surface.
 19. The semiconductor device ofclaim 17, wherein the barrier metal covers at least a portion of asurface of the second pad extending in a direction parallel to the firstsurface.
 20. The semiconductor device of claim 17, wherein the barriermetal includes at least one of Ti, N, and Ta.
 21. The semiconductordevice of claim 20, wherein the barrier metal includes one of TiN andTaN.
 22. The semiconductor device of claim 17, wherein a portion of thebarrier metal contacts the first pad.
 23. The semiconductor device ofclaim 17, wherein the first pad is partially covered by the barriermetal.
 24. The semiconductor device of claim 11, wherein a surface ofthe second pad is exposed through the diffusion preventing layer. 25.The semiconductor device of claim 11, wherein the diffusion preventinglayer prevents metal of the first pad from diffusing into a dielectricfilm of the second wiring layer.
 26. The semiconductor device of claim11, wherein each of the first pad and the second pad includes at leastone of Cu, Au, Ag, Al, Ta, Ti, W, Sn, Mo, Ni, In, Co and an alloy of anyof Cu, Au, Ag, Al, Ta, Ti, W, Sn, Mo, Ni, In, and Co.
 27. Thesemiconductor device of claim 11, wherein a width of the second pad in adirection parallel to the first surface of the first wiring layer isgreater than a width of the first pad in the direction parallel to thefirst surface.
 28. The semiconductor device of claim 11, wherein a widthof the second pad in a direction parallel to the first surface of thefirst wiring layer is equal to a width of the first pad in the directionparallel to the first surface.
 29. The semiconductor device of claim 11,wherein a first one of the first semiconductor substrate and the secondsemiconductor substrate includes an imaging device, and a second one ofthe first semiconductor substrate and the second substrate includes atleast one of a memory device and a logic device.